Behavioral Health and Human Interactions in Space

438 Pages·2023·19.196 MB·English

by  Nick Kanas

Nick Kanas
Behavioral
Health and
Human
Interactions in
Space
Behavioral Health and Human Interactions
in Space
Nick Kanas
Behavioral Health
and Human Interactions
in Space
Nick Kanas
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, USA
ISBN 978-3-031-16722-5 ISBN 978-3-031-16723-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16723-2
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
This book is dedicated to my wife Carolynn,
who for 50 years has supported my work
with patience and encouragement. I am
grateful for her support.
Foreword
Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have
lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for
the stars. —Carl Sagan, Cosmos
I met Dr. Nick Kanas when I came to work at NASA as an aerospace psychiatrist in
June, 2021. I became acquainted with Nick’s work addressing psychological factors
in human spaceflight. I was immediately intrigued. You see, there are not many
psychiatrists who venture into the aerospace world, yet human factors are a seminal
part of mission success, and as humans venture out farther for longer periods of
time, there will be a need for more trained mental health professionals who have an
understanding of the psychological challenges inherent in the aerospace environment.
My conversations with Nick covered a wide range of topics to include behavioral
health and science fiction. There was lighthearted simplicity along with sublime
reflection. What was very apparent was that we shared a mutual desire to promote
learning and guide those seeking to have a deeper understanding about how humans
adapt to live and work in space. I continue to learn from Nick; he has more than 50
years of experience writing, researching, and consulting in public and private space
activities and is well established as an expert in the field of human factors and psy-
chological adaptation in space.
To date, not a lot has been written that provides a comprehensive approach to
behavioral health and human interactions in space. This is an inchoate and extremely
relevant field.
Nick’s book on behavioral health and human interactions in space covers the full
spectrum of human psychological adaptation in this unique environment. His topics
are well organized, cogent, and span the full gamut from astronaut selection, team
training, and leadership qualities to mission preparation, recreational space travel,
our return to the Moon, and future expeditions to Mars. Additionally, Nick addresses
the challenges inherent in establishing colonies on both the Moon and Mars, with
some reflections on psychosocial lessons based on terrestrial knowledge and from
science fiction.
We are at the forefront of an exciting era in the history of human spaceflight. We
have now flown our first commercial crews to the ISS, will soon return to the Moon
vii
viii Foreword
with the Artemis program, and have begun the era of the private, non-professional
astronaut. In the decade to come, we will see low Earth orbit become open to com-
mercialization and the creation of a new technology corridor burgeoning with pos-
sibility. Additionally, recreational space travel will open new opportunities for those
curious souls who dare to venture out to get a glimpse of the beauty and wonder
of space.
Nick’s work is extremely beneficial for all who are involved in the aerospace
medical field seeking to have a deeper understanding of human psychological adap-
tation and functioning in space. Furthermore, the fields of aerospace psychiatry/
psychology are in their infancy, and Nick’s book will be a primary textbook for
these evolving fields in aerospace medicine.
Aerospace Psychiatrist, UTMB/HHPC Charles H. Dukes, M.D., FAPA
NASA Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX, USA
Preface
The year 2021 was a big one for human space travel. On July 11, Richard Branson’s
Virgin Galactic sent two pilots and four civilian, non-astronaut passengers (includ-
ing Richard Branson himself), on a suborbital mission into space. Nine days later,
on July 20, Jeff Bezos and three other civilian passengers did the same thing atop a
Blue Origin rocket. On September 15, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched four civilians
on the first orbital mission into space that did not involve a space station as a desti-
nation. Furthermore, SpaceX continues to fly astronauts and supplies to the
International Space Station (ISS). On October 5, a Russian Soyuz rocket carried a
Russian film director and an actress to the ISS to film part of a movie. On June 17,
China sent three taikonauts to the core module of its new space station, Tiangong.
Throughout the year, NASA continued working on its Artemis Program to the
Moon, including the development of the Block 1 variant of its Space Launch System.
As 2022 began, both the private and public space programs continued to make
progress, with NASA delivering a completed Block 1 rocket to Cape Kennedy in
March. Artemis I was successfully launched on November 16. However, the Russian
invasion of Ukraine began to alter the space landscape, with Russia and the West
severing cooperation on some of their space activities and Russia continuing to
move away from participation in the Artemis Program in favor of establishing a
lunar base with China. As this book goes to press, things are still fluid in these areas
of international cooperation. Nevertheless, one hopes that plans to colonize the
Moon and Mars will continue despite delays due to external political factors.
General Issues in Human Spaceflight
To mount a successful expeditionary human space program (say to Mars), an incre-
mental approach is needed. This implies that studying human factors (e.g., behav-
ioral and interpersonal issues) on the ground in environments with features similar
to those encountered during the mission is a good first step, not only in exposing
possible risks, but also in testing appropriate countermeasures to deal with these
ix
x Preface
risks. Then, examining elements of an expeditionary mission in space in a closer
and safer facility, such as the ISS or a cis-lunar facility like a space station orbiting
the Moon, would be a reasonable next step.
Appropriate financial and human resources to conduct such a mission are neces-
sary. But these resources need to be stable for years, not changing with every politi-
cal election where they are reprioritized with other activities competing for the same
money. The U.S.A. committed itself to a decade of appropriate and constant funding
to reach the Moon, and its efforts were successful. To succeed, NASA made engi-
neering its first priority, with other considerations being secondary, including human
factors. For survival, let alone mission success, a fully functional launch system was
necessary. This priority is critical for mission success, but not sufficient. For
future human expeditionary space missions, crewmembers need to be prioritized as
critical components, and their needs and well-being must be given top priority in
planning physical space, resources, privacy, and other human needs. This will take
money and creative thinking in human factors engineering, but the result will be a
mission that successfully achieves its goals and maximizes human comfort. Since
ambitious space missions are costly and complex, they likely will be multinational
in scope. Psychological, social, and cultural factors involving the women and men
of the mission need to be addressed openly, not only within the crew but also in mis-
sion control and from the various participating agencies.
Space is a hostile place for humans, given its unique set of physical hazards.
Schorn and Roma [1] have categorized these in five ways, which can be remem-
bered by the simple acronym RIDGE: Radiation, Isolation and confinement,
Distance from Earth, Gravity alterations (e.g., microgravity), and Environment that
is hostile. Elsewhere, I have discussed these stressors as three potential show-stop-
pers for future long-duration expeditionary space missions [2]: The first deals with
the effects of microgravity on human physiology, such as bone loss and muscle
atrophy. Although with proper exercise people have survived physically on orbit for
up to14 months, it is difficult to predict how they will do during an expeditionary
mission to a planet like Mars that will last much longer. It is possible that a mid-
mission stay in a partial gravity environment, such as the Moon (1/6 Earth gravity,
or g) or Mars (3/8 g), will be restorative, but currently there is insufficient data to
make this prediction. A second possible show-stopper has to do with exposure to
radiation from galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events. During orbital mis-
sions, astronauts receive protection from the Earth’s Van Allen Belts, but leaving the
near-Earth confines exposes space travelers to ionizing radiation from space. The
third possible show-stopper will be the subject matter of this book: the behavioral
and interpersonal aspects of human space travel. Individual behavioral health and
performance (BHP) and the interactions of crewmembers with each other and with
people on the outside are important issues. For example, in a recent review of space-
flight medical conditions, it was found that 98% included at least one BHP-relevant
symptom, and 73% of spaceflight medical treatments produced at least one BHP-
relevant effect [3]. In this book, I will be focusing on the I, D, and E components of
the RIDGE acronym, although in Chap. 1 I also will consider the impact of R and G
on human cognition and performance.
Preface xi
Use of Space Analogs and Simulators
The content of this book will be drawn from both anecdotal material and empirical
research, both from space and from settings on Earth that have many features in
common with the space environment. Anecdotal material includes documents such
as space agency debriefings, diaries kept during a space mission, media interviews,
and books written by astronauts or about astronauts by flight surgeons, biographers,
etc. [Note: there are many terms for people who fly in space, such as astronaut (the
USA, Canada, Europe), cosmonaut (Russia), and taikonaut (China). In this book,
when a generic space traveler is being referred to, I will use the general term “astro-
naut.”] Since anecdotal material reflects the feelings and thoughts of people who
have been in space, this source can provide valuable direct and first-hand informa-
tion of what it is like to live and work in this unique environment.
In this book, many reviews are cited of empirical research that is related to human
behavior and human interactions in space. Empirical research implies the testing of
hypotheses by using rigorous methodology and the evaluation of the results based
on appropriate statistical analyses. If these findings are published in peer-reviewed
journals and replicated in follow-up studies, then confidence in them grows even
more. Studies following these principles will be considered the “gold standard” in
this book, although other sources of information, such as the anecdotal material
referred to above, historical information, and expert opinion, also will be included.
Space-related empirical research can be done in space (such as on the ISS) or on
the ground in settings that have features in common with space. In terms of the lat-
ter, Cromwell and Neigut [4] have made a distinction between isolated, confined,
and extreme environments, and isolated, confined, and controlled environments,
which I will label as ICEEs and ICCEs. ICEEs are space analogs that take place in
an extreme environment, have primary mission goals other than research, have lim-
ited or no experimental control of conditions, and have variable crew sizes selected
for field work or training purposes. ICCEs often take place in an environment that
is designed to be a simulation of a space mission, where research is a main goal of
the mission, where conditions are partially experimentally controlled, and where the
crew size is regulated and selection is made to meet astronaut criteria. These envi-
ronments and the studies they have generated are innumerable [4–15], but a repre-
sentative list is given in Table 1. Most of these are supported by public funds, but the
private sector increasingly is becoming involved in space, and many companies are
using their own test facilities. Note that in this book, I will use the term isolated and
confined environments (ICEs) when speaking generically about both types.
What are the pros and cons of space analog and simulation missions? In terms of
the pros, since space activities are expensive and dangerous, testing a new mission
in a space-like environment on the ground is more economical and safer than it is in
space, although such environments may have their own safety concerns [16]. Also,
since variables can be controlled, confounds can be minimized, and the focus can be
on important factors related to the study. Large sample sizes amenable to statistical
analyses can be achieved safely and affordably in ground-based settings using